Blade containing and dispensing device



Jan. 1, 1952 TEST] 2,581,332

BLADE CONTAINING AND DISPENSING DEVICE Filed Jan. 27, 1947 Patented Jan. 1, 1952 BLADE CONTAINING AND- DISPENSING DEVICE Nicholas Testi, Boston, Mass., assignor to Gillette Safety Razor Company, Boston, Mass., a corporation of Delaware Application .lanuary 27, 1947, Serial No. 724,680,,

7 Claims. (Cl. 206 1'6) The present invention comprises anew and improved device for containing anddispensingsafety razorblades.

An object of the invention is to provide a device at low cost which may be filled by the blade manufacturer, which will adequately protect the blades against damage in the storage, distribution and sales intervals, and, which will provide the user with a convenient reservoir from which he; can draw the individual blades as required for use.

The fine cutting edge of a safety razor blade is so delicate-in, its structure, that it may be easily damaged byany chance contact occurring before actual use. It is desirable that the manufacturer, who is best qualified, to produce the fine. edge of the blade, should also protect and pack the blades so that they may arrive safely in the users hands.

The device of the present invention meets all the requirements above discussed and has other advantages, which will be pointed out hereinafter. Among these is the capacity for conveniently handling double-edged slotted blades of, a Well known type.

Going more into detail, the device of my in,- vention comprises a base having spaced upright studs thereon for use or in combination with a stack of slotted blades, arranged instaggered relation on; the base, with alternate blades inrpaled on difierent studs, but each blade being free to move in one direction only, and a. top or cover portion or-member secured to the base, at least partially covering and holding the, blade stack in place while exposing a substantial area of the uppermost blade in the stack whereby the latter may be engaged by the user and displaced for removal.

The studs are separated by an open, unobstructed space and thuseach slotted blade is free to move longitudinally a distance determined by the length of space between the studs. It is believed' that slotted blades have not heretofore been positioned in staggered relation on studs having an open'space between them and such combination and arrangement constitutes a further feature of the present invention.

These and other features of the invention will be best understood and appreciated from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof selected forpurposes of illustration and shown.v in theaccompanying drawings in which:

Fig: l. isa. view in perspective of the device on an. enlarged scale Eig; 2 :is:a.v-i'e w-- in longitudinal section on the. linezwl ofFiga. 1;; and.

Fig. 3- is a view in perspective showing a blade displaced for removal.

An important feature of the blade containing and dispensing device herein shown is that it may be constructed at such moderate cost that the manufacturer can aiford'to supply it merely as an item of blade packing which may be discarded when it has served its purpose. I I

The illustrated device comprises a rectangular base 10 having parallel longitudinal ribs orflanges at its opposite edges and spaced upstanding longitudinally-aligned studs [3' and I4 located in its median axis. The base It may be molded of'any suitable synthetic resin such as Vinylite orthe like. attached to the base III by dowels but it will be understoodthat as a general thing these studs will be molded as an integral part of the base. They are long and narrow in contour, located an equal distance within the ends of the base l ll and'have rounded inner vertical faces.

Attached to the base I0 is a metallic top or cover member l5. This may extend across the middleof the bottom of the base I0, and may be held inplace by a dowel stud it which fits snugly into a hole provided for it in the bottom of the base. The cover member extends upwardly across the outer walls of the ribs I l' and I2 of the base and then inwardly in the form of opposed wide U-shaped flanges l! and la; The cover member I5 is formedjof spring metal and its flanges l1 and I 8 tend always to spring downwardly toward theinner face of the base Ill. The two cut-out portions of the flanges l'! and I8 provide an open-f ing of substantial area the device as a whole.

The device is shown as containing a stack of 6 longitudinal slotted blades 20 of a well known commercial type, that is to say thin double-edged blades having a notch in each corner which notches together define unsharpened elongated end portions which close each end of the blade. Each blade is also provided with an elongated located at the center of median slot of" substantially the same length as the sharp edges of the blade and provided with spaced transversely-extending enlargements designed to fit the blade-locating projections of razors in which the blades are to be used. The blade slots are of such width as to fit freely over the studs !-'3' and I4 and when impaled on these studs the blades are held positively with their sharpened edges out of contact with the ribs H and" l-2of the base while permitted to movelongitudinallywithout binding on the studs. The'studs: I 3i-and Ht are so-spaced' that the blades 20 may be located in. staggered relation thereon,

As herein shown, the studs l3 and Mare with alternate blades impaled on different studs and each blade free to move longitudinally in one direction only a distance equal to the length of its slot minus the length of the stud upon which it is impaled. As shown in Fig. 1, the uppermost blade 20 is impaled upon the right-hand stud 13 with its solid end portion in contact with the outer wall of the stud and the other end portion of the blade 20 is located in substantial contact with the inner vertical face of the stud it. That blade therefore is free to move toward the right until its solid left-hand end brings up against the stud 13. Similarly the second blade in the stack is impaled upon the: stud l4 with its inner end in contact with the inner vertical wall of the stud l3, and that blade is free to move longitudinally toward the left.

In assembling the illustrating device for distribution, the blade manufacturer may supply the blades 20 to the base in the staggered relation above explained by automatic machinery or by any means which will adequately safeguard the sharp edges of the blades. The cover member I5 is then placed and attached to the base and through spring action holds the blades of the stack securely in the position shown, that is to say with the opposite ends of the blades substantially flush with the ends of the base H3 and with their sharpened edges, as already noted, safely clearing the ribs H and I2. It will be noted that the flanges I1 and I8 of the cover member may be so spaced as to permit the cover member as a whole to be slipped into its position past one or other of the studs l3 and M.

The completely loaded blade containing and dispensing device is shown in Fig. 1 as ready to be wrapped or packaged for distribution. When it reaches the user, he has only to engage the uppermost blade 20 with the fleshy portion of his thumb, as shown in Fig. 3, in the area of the blade exposed by the cut-out openings in the flanges l1 and I8 of the cover member, and to work the blade longitudinally toward the right in opposition to the yielding resistance of the cover member. In Fig. 3 the uppermost blade 20 is shown as displaced longitudinally nearly to the limit of its movement in its initial plane, that is to say, the left-hand end of its slot has been moved almost into engagement with the inner wall of the stud l3. It will be noted that the contour of the end edges of the combined flanges I1 and ii! of the cover member corresponds generally to the end contour of blade. Accordingly. when the blade 20 is moved endwise to the position shown in Fig. 3, its inner end passes substantially out from beneath the flanges of-the cover member. It is thus freed and may be conveniently grasped by the user and conveyed directly to the razor.

The blade 29' in the stack which now becomes uppermost is however impaled upon the stud I4 and is free for movement toward the left ill-- stead of toward the right end of the device. Accordingly when the user desires to remove this second blade, he proceeds as before, engaging the middle portion of the blade with his thumb and advancing it endwise out from beneath the flanges of the cover member but in the opposite direction from that in which the previous blade has been moved, unless the device has meanwhile been reversed end for end.

The resilient downwardly-extending flanges l1 and [8 of the cover member, which in the illustrated embodiment of the present invention serve as the blade-restraining means, include bladecontacting portions of relatively limited area which are located longitudinally inwardly of and below the tops of the spaced studs 13 and I4. These blade-contacting portions follow down the blade stack as it is reduced in height by the removal of successive blades. The flanges have sufiicient range of yielding movement to retain a single blade in position or to maintain a stack of five or ten or more blades in position. In each instance therefore the blade which is uppermost in the stack or the last remaining blade of the stack is yieldingly held below the tops of the studs and in the position in which it is initially placed in the device, being at the same time free for frictional movement in one direction or the other from beneath the cover member, and while the underlying blade is held against movement with it.

While the uppermost blade is free to be moved toward the right under the traction of the users thumb, the next underlying blade is held positively against movement in that direction by the engagement of its left hand solid end with the edge of the stud M. Like conditions exist as blade after blade is withdrawn. Thus the ejection of one blade at a time is efiected without ever danger of displacing a second blade.

Having thus disclosed my invention and described in detail an illustrative embodiment thereof, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A container for dispensing bare doubleedged razor blades individually by direct thumbto -blade contact, the blades being centrally ciated blades without binding along the slot edges,

each stud extending in the longitudinal direction of said container by an amount suflicient to prevent the cutting edges of the blades associated therewith from contacting accidentally the container walls through angular movement of the blades, and another member connected to said base member having a thumb-receiving opening positioned over the region of overlap of said blades when stacked as aforesaid, said opening being located in a longitudinal sense between said spaced studs and being of sufiicient size to admit the users thumb so that the fleshy part of the thumb can come into direct contact with the uppermost blade and bulge into the transverse slot enlargements thereof for relatively secure direct driving contact between thumb and blade, and said latter member further-having two pairs of spaced downwardly directed blade contacting portions positioned around said thumb-opening, for fixing the uppermost blade below the tops of said blade-locating studs, the

space between said studs at least in the region of said thumb opening being substantially free and unobstructed to permit the thumb flesh to bulge into secure driving engagement with said blade slot enlargements as aforesaid and to avoid substantial flexure of the trailing blade end during.

discharge movementbetween the locating studs, each said pair of blade contacting portions being spaced inwardly from the nearest blade-locating stud by an amount sufiicient to clear said trailing blade end by the time the latter has reached its obstructing stud, whereupon said cleared end may be moved over said stud to complete the discharge of said blade.

2. A container for dispensing bare doubleedged razor blades individually by direct thumbto -bla-de contact, the blades being centrally slotted and having transversely extending enlargements along the slot side edges and being closed at opposite ends of the slots, said container including a generally rectangular-shaped base member having a pair of longitudinally aligned upstanding blade-locating studs adapted to extend through the slots of alternate blades stacked in longitudinally staggered relation and permitting longitudinal movement of their associated blades without binding along the slot edges, each stud extending in the longitudinal direction of said container by an amount suflicient to prevent the cutting edges of the blades associated therewith from contacting accidentally the containerwalls through angular movement of the blades, and another member connected to said base member having a thumb-receiving opening positioned over the region of overlap of said blades when stacked as aforesaid, said opening being located in a longitudinal sense between said spaced studs and being of suiiicient size to admit the users thumb so that the fleshy part of the thumb can come into direct contact with the uppermost blade and bulge into the transverse slot enlargements thereof for relatively secure directdriving contact between thumb and blade, and said latter member further having a downwardly-directed blade-contacting portion for fixing the level of the uppermost blade in a plane below the tops of said blade-locating studs, the space between said studs at least in the region of said thumb opening being substantially free and unobstructed to permit the thumb flesh to bulge into secure driving engagement with said blade slot enlargements as aforesaid and to avoid substantial flexure of the trailing blade end during discharge movement between the locating studs, said blade-contacting portion being spaced inwardly from the nearest blade-locating stud by an amount suiiicient to clear said trailing blade end by the time the latter has reached its obstructing stud, whereupon said cleared end may be moved over said stud to complete the discharge of said blade.

3. A container for dispensing bare doubleedged razor blades individually by direct thumbto blade contact, the blades being centrally slotted and having transversely extending enlargements along the slot side edges and being closed at opposite ends of the slots, said container including a generally rectangular-shaped base member having a pair of longitudinally aligned upstanding blade-locating studs adapted to extend through the slots of alternate blades stacked in longitudinally staggered relation and permitting longitudinal movement of their associated blades without binding along the slot edges, and a spring member connected to said base member and having a centrally located open space positioned over the over-lapped region of said longitudinally staggered blades, said open space being located in a longitudinal sense between said spaced studs and being of sufficient size to admit the users thumb so that the fleshy part thereof can come into direct contact with the uppermost blade and bulge into the transverse slot enlargements thereof for relatively secure direct thum-to-blade driving contact, said spring member'having downwardly directed portions adapted to bear down on the stack to'confine the latter below the tops of said bladelocating studs, the space between said studs at least in the region of said thumb-admitting space being substantially free and unobstructed to permit. the thumb flesh to bulge into secure driving engagement with said blade slot enlargements as aforesaid and to avoid substantial flexture of the trailing end of said blade during discharge movement between said locating studs, the blade contacting portions of said spring member being respectively spaced inwardly from the nearest blade-locating stud by an amount sufficient to clear said trailing blade end by the time the latter has reached its obstructing stud, whereupon said cleared end may be moved over said stud to complete the discharge of said blade.

4. A container for dispensing bare doubleedged razor blades individually by direct thumbto blade contact, the blades being centrally slotted and having transversely extending-enlargements along the slot side edges and being closed at opposite ends of the slots, said con tainer including a generally rectangular-shaped and being of sufficient size to admit the users thumb so that the fleshy part of the thumb can come into direct contact with the uppermost blade and bulge into the transverse slot enlargements thereof for relatively secure direct driv-' ing contact between thumb and blade, and said latter member further having a downwardly directed blade-contacting portion for fixing the level of the uppermost blade in a plane below the tops of said blade-locating studs, the space between said studs at least in the the region of said thumb opening being substantially free and unobstructed to permit the thumb flesh to bulge into secure driving engagement with said blade slot enlargements as aforesaid and to avoid substantial flexure of the trailing blade end during discharge movement between the locating studs, said blade-contacting portion being spacedinwardly from the nearest blade-locating stud by an amount sufficient to clear said trailing blade end by the time the latter has reached its obstructing stud, whereupon said cleared end may be moved over said stud to complete the discharge of said blade.

5. A container for dispensing bare doubleedged razor blades individually by direct thumbto blade contact, the blades being centrally slotted and having transversely extending enlargements along the slot side edges and being closed at opposite ends of the slots, said container including a generally rectangular-shaped base member having a pair of longitudinally aligned upstanding blade-locating studs adapted positioned over the region of overlap of said blades when stacked as aforesaid, said opening being located in a longitudinal sense between said spaced studs and being of sufficient size to admit the users thumb so that the fleshy part thereof can come into direct contact with the uppermost blade and bulge into the transverse slot enlargements thereof for relatively secure direct thumbto-blade driving contact and said latter member further having a downwardly-directed bladecontacting portion for fixing the level of the uppermost blade in a plane below the tops of said bladelocating studs, the space between said studs at least in the region of the thumb opening being substantially free and unobstructed to permit the thumb flesh to bulge into secure driving engagement with said blade slot enlargements and avoid substantial flexure of the trailing blade end during discharge movement between the cating studs, whereby the uppermost blade of said stack may be securely but easily started out of the container and its leading end projected therefrom under direct thumb-to-blade contact alone without dragging any lower blades therewith.

6. A dispensing container holding a plurality of bare slotted blades in stacked formation with the individual blades being longitudinally staggered, said container comprising a base member having two spaced and longitudinally aligned blade-locating studs extending upwardly therefrom and respectively through the slots of alternate blades, and an upper member connected to said base member having a thumb-receiving opening located in a longitudinal sense between said studs, said upper member partially overlapping and contacting the uppermost blade of said stack and having portions holding it at a level appreciably below the tops of said studs, said upper member clearing said studs by an amount sufficient to admit the ready passage of the trailing ends of said blades between said upper member and said studs, the space between said studs at least in the region of the uppermost blade being substantially free and unobstructed and the blade slots in that region intermediate the studs being unoccupied by any container structure thereby to permit the fleshy part of the users thumb to be introduced through said thumb-opening and bulge into the slot of said uppermost blade for secure thumb-to-blade driving engagement therewith, and the trailing end of said blade to move between said studs without substantial fiexure.

7. A blade dispenser for bare double-edged centrally-slotted blades comprising a housing adapted to contain astack of longitudinally staggered blades and having opposed end exit openings, a pair of longitudinally aligned spaced blade-locating studs located inwardly of said exit openings and extending upwardly in said housing in the median plane thereof and adapted to project through the slots of alternate blades, and a top portion overlying at least a portion of the region to be occupied by the blades and having a thumb opening longitudinally midway between said studs of sufiicient size to admit the users thumb so that the fleshy part of the thumb can-come into direct contact with the upper face of the topmost blade of the stack for relatively secure sliding ejection of the blade through direct thumb-to-blade driving contact, and further having downwardly extending blade restraining means located between said studs and including blade contact portions of relatively limited area located inwardly of and below the tops of said spaced studs.

, NICHOLAS TESTI.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,834,284 Kylberg Dec. 1, 1931 1,908,115 Chadwick May 9, 1933 1,909,919 Testi May 16, 1933 2,315,990 Testi Apr. 6, 1943 2,330,252 Testi Sept. 28, 1943 2,344,961 Benjamin Mar. 28, 1944 2,359,807 Testi Oct. 10, 1944 

